Fresno city attorney wants DA Smittcamp to correct remarks on city council investigation
Fresno City Attorney Doug Sloan, in an email obtained by The Bee, asked Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp to correct or clarify her statements regarding their conversation last June about a Brown Act investigation and agenda item related to Granite Park.
The email, sent early Monday morning, is the latest development in the long legal and political drama surrounding Granite Park. The park is currently owned by the city and operated by a nonprofit run by well-known developer Terance Frazier. A 2019 city audit of the nonprofit’s finances sparked controversy over the park that has dragged on for years.
Last week, Smittcamp’s office announced no charges would be filed against councilmembers after her office investigated allegations the state’s open meeting law, the Brown Act, was violated. Smittcamp’s announcement came nearly nine months after she confirmed the investigation. She announced the investigation the day of a scheduled vote on a settlement agreement between Frazier and the city that outlined continued operations for Granite Park.
Brown Act comments
Smittcamp appeared over the weekend on the KSEE 24 program Sunday Morning Matters and responded to a question about whether she intentionally “threw off” the timing of the vote.
“That call came in at 2-something in the afternoon, that there was an allegation of communications that were imperfect. I will just be very honest — the city attorney himself called me,” Smittcamp said.
“I think there’s been a lot of speculation about who called, and it was the city attorney. He called me — literally, Doug Sloan — to ask me some advice. And he said, ‘There’s some situations going on here. What would you advise me?’ and I said, ‘Doug, I’m not your boss. It’s not my job to instruct you, but what I can tell you is there has been an allegation made, and this investigation is going on.”
Sloan said he contacted Smittcamp only after receiving her letter confirming the investigation and requesting the council not vote on Granite Park matters.
In his email on Monday, Sloan said that, at the time of the letter, he didn’t know who contacted Smittcamp’s office about a potential Brown Act violation or what the allegations were.
“My understanding, indirectly, is former City Manager Tommy Esqueda is the City official who contacted your office about a potential Brown Act violation,” Sloan wrote. “I would appreciate correcting or clarifying, and I think it would be more appropriate coming from you, rather than me.”
Later Monday, Smittcamp clarified in a statement that during her TV interview, she was referring to a phone conversation with Sloan.
“The district attorney’s response to that question, along with her reference to the phone call, was not intended to suggest the city attorney was the person who lodged a confidential complaint regarding the possible violation,” Smittcamp said in the statement.
Smittcamp confirmed it was not Sloan who made the allegation to her office.
City attorney conflict
In the same announcement in which Smittcamp said no charges would be filed in the Brown Act investigation, she also outlined another investigation her office completed regarding the Fresno City Council’s spending on masks during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Smittcamp recommended the city change the city charter regarding how the city attorney is hired. Currently, the city council has hiring and firing authority over the city attorney. But, Sloan also serves the city mayor’s administration. Smittcamp said the current system creates a conflict for the city attorney.
Sloan, in his Monday email, defended the legal advice he provides to the city council.
He also noted that Fresno’s council-attorney relationship is not unique in California.
“In no city to my knowledge does the mayor or manager appoint the city attorney,” he said, adding that Fresno’s current system contributes to the balance of power since the mayor appoints the city manager and has authority over most of the city employees.
Sloan also pointed out that county boards of supervisors, including Fresno’s, also appoint their own legal counsel.
“Most cities are general law cities. Those must follow state statutes in how to conduct themselves. State law specifically provides that for those cities, the council is the appointing authority for the city attorney,” he said, citing multiple government code sections.
Sloan said he believes the district attorney’s office is the appropriate authority to prosecute municipal code violations.’
“From the beginning of taking this job nine years ago, my office has provided objective, neutral legal advice to all city officials,” Sloan said. “Legal advice is provided with integrity and objectivity so that city officials and the public can be assured it is sound advice.”
You can read the full statement from Sloan and Smittcamp here.
Email disclaimer
The bottom of Sloan’s email to Smittcamp included a confidentiality disclaimer.
Smittcamp said in her statement her office learned from a reporter that the media obtained a copy of Sloan’s email.
Said Smittcamp: “Because of this disclaimer, the district attorney will not further comment on the contents of Mr. Sloan’s email outside of this clarifying statement. Dissemination of this email, which was leaked to the media, only adds to our concern about the city council and the need to ‘fix their house.’”
This story was originally published March 7, 2022 at 1:17 PM.